


Alternative

by laislafionita



Category: Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit RPF, NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: Age Difference, Best Friends, Brother-Sister Relationships, College, Eventual Smut, First Love, First Meetings, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Multi, Sonny Carisi's past life, Students, Young Sonny Carisi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:07:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29153271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laislafionita/pseuds/laislafionita
Summary: Ezra Johnson moves from New Orleans to Staten Island, after her father was transferred. She becomes friends with Bella Carisi at first, then Sonny Carisi.Story starts in 2004.
Relationships: Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Original Character(s), Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Original Female Character(s), Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./Reader, Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr./You
Kudos: 6





	1. Meeting

“Miss Johnson, you’ll be teaming up with Bella Carisi,” 

You sighed and looked over the classroom. You saw this blond girl looking at you with her blue eyes, you figured she’s Bella. She politely smiled at you before focusing on the rest of the class. Once the bell rang, you were gathering your things when you felt a presence next to you. “Hi, I’m Bella, your partner,” 

You looked at her, seeing only positive vibes on her face. “Ezra,” you shyly smiled.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I already started to work on that project, I can show you what I’ve got so far,” Bella started to walk out of the classroom, expecting you to follow her lead so you did. 

“Huh, yeah sure. Why don’t you have a partner already?” You asked, walking by her side in the school’s corridor. 

“I had one. It was my best friend but we got into a fight, and to sum up, I asked Mr Willow to do it on my own. He told me that a new classmate was coming and I’ll team up with them. So here we are,” she paused, waiting for your reaction but you were taking too much time for her, apparently. “Hope you’re okay with it.” She added. 

“Well, to be honest, I work better alone but science isn’t my favorite subject so,” 

“I can help you with it, outside our project if you want. And you can help me in English literature. I hate it,” she giggled and you couldn't help but return a smile. “And I noticed you were good at it,”

“You got yourself a deal,” 

You exchanged home phone numbers to be sure you had them, but you and Bella spent the rest of the day together anyway. She was very talkative and eager to know you, you don’t really know why to be honest. You don’t consider yourself to be the most interesting person, you lack self esteem. And moving to a new city, to a new high school wasn’t helping. You had a few friends in New Orleans and you were okay with it. They were amazing friends and leaving them broke your heart. 

But you didn’t have a choice, of course. Your father got transferred here in Staten Island and the entire family followed. You, your mother, your younger twin brothers (11) and your fur sibling, Bowie, a golden retriever. 

That day, you happily told your father about your new friend. It felt good to have someone new in your life. Especially Bella, who seems like she could become your best friend in the world. You spent the next few days by being all the time with her at school. But you had to work on your science project and it couldn’t be done in the library. You offered her to come at your place but she turned it down by inviting you at hers instead. “My parents would prefer to meet you first. They are very protective,” she rolled her eyes. 

“Fine, okay,” you chuckled. “I’ll behave,” 

“What about yours?” 

“My dad is a cop, he works  _ a lot _ but we’re very close. I’m, what you can call, a daddy’s little girl. My mum—it’s complicated,” you sighed. 

“How so?” She asked. 

You don’t really know why you felt confident enough with her already but you did, so you told her. “I found that last year that she’s been cheating on my dad. She knows I know, but she made me promise not to tell anything to my father. And I don’t want him to be broken hearted, so—“ you trailed off. 

“God, I’m so sorry. It must be hard for you,” she put her hand on yours and squeezed it gently. “If you need anything, I’m here for you, okay?” 

“Likewise,” 

The Saturday after, you went to her house. You were feeling very anxious about it, Bella scared you by saying her parents were very protective of her, as she is the youngest. You know that when parents don’t like their kids’ friends, it makes the friendship complicated. 

Bella met you outside, she hugged you. “You nervous?” 

“A little. I’m not good at meeting people,” you confessed. 

“You did good with me,” 

“Come on, Bellz. You did all the work,” 

Bella is your complete opposite. She is friendly, and welcoming. She talks with a lot of people at school. She can’t be categorized as popular but people know her - to be fair, it’s a pretty small high school - and respect her, at least. 

“Bella?” A male voice was heard from the house’s door. She turned around while you took a look at the guy standing at the door. Obviously not her father, he was probably in his twenties. Blond-ish hair covering his forehead, he was tall and thin. He was dressed in a red zipper and blue jeans. Your eyes stayed on him for a longer time than you expected. 

“What?” She answered. 

“Ma wants you to go to the grocery shop for her,” 

“Does she, huh? Or did she ask you and you’re just passing on to me, like always?”

“Please, can you go? I have this boring assignment I need to finish,” he complained and walked up to Bella and you - your eyes hadn’t left him. “Please sis,” he gave her puppy eyes, handing her a small piece of paper. “She wants to welcome Ezra with a pie,” he finally lays his eyes on you. He smiled and offered his hand, “I’m Sonny, Bella’s big brother. Nice to meet you,” 

You shook his hand, enjoying how soft his skin is. 

Bella did talk about her siblings once. Two sisters and one brother. But she never mentioned her brother being this handsome. So handsome, it made your heart twisted. “Don’t  _ Sonny _ him, he doesn’t deserve it right now. His name is Dominick,” she informed you, before grabbing the paper from his hands, “Next time, I won’t go, Junior,” 

“Thank you Bella,” he said with a grin, making the “a” last. 

“You coming, E?” You heard from a few feet away. You had been so mesmerized by Sonny, you didn’t notice that Bella had been walking away already. 

“You better go before she drags you down,” he smiled. “I’ll see you later,” 

He went back to the house and you joined Bella. “Don’t do that,” she said a moment after, while you were walking to the grocery shop. 

“Do what?” 

“Fall in love with my brother. It cost me a best friend already,” 

“Don’t worry about that, I promise,” you smiled at her. 

You shouldn’t have promised something like that. 


	2. Discovering

“It’s amazing, Mrs Carisi!” you exclaimed, biting into your second piece of blueberry pie after she offered you to have another. 

“Call me Julia, sweetie,” she smiled at you. “You’re everything Bella has been talking about for the past two weeks. You two hit it off,” 

“Thanks to her, to be honest. She came to talk to me like we were already friends,” 

You, Bella and her mother kept talking for a moment, Julia being interested in knowing you better - perhaps making sure you’re a good person to hang out with her youngest daughter. You thought about every answer before saying it out loud, although there’s no way you’d be lying to this woman. 

“Is there some pie left?” Sonny rushed into the kitchen, he had lost the red zipper, he was now in a simple white tee-shirt. 

“Sorry, son. Ezra just took the last piece, do you want me to bake you another one?” his mother answered.

“Nah, I’m good Ma, thanks,” he said, grabbing some water in the fridge. 

“I barely took a bite, you can finish it,” you offered with a small smile.

“Don’t be nice with him, E. He’s the worst,” Bella grinned at her brother, who shot her a glare.

“Isabella!” her mother warned her. 

“Thanks Ezra for offering, you’re too sweet to be friends with my sister,” 

He walked behind Bella, gave her a kick in the butt and went back upstairs. When you were done with the pie, your new friend took you to the basement of their house. “My dad arranged this place years ago for my brother, so he could invite some friends over. It’s mine now,” she sat on one of the couches, her science project was on the coffee table. There were small lights, two couches - with blankets - two armchairs, an old TV, a radio and a mini fridge. Bella sat on the couch and started to show you her work. 

You two stayed hours working on the science project and talking about everything. The more you were getting to know each other, the more you realized how different she was from you, but you were loving her for it. She could make you a better version of yourself. 

Around dinner time, her mother told you it was time for you to go home. It’s too soon to invite you over for dinner, although she already likes you but she hasn’t been in touch with your parents yet. “Sonny will drive you home,” she said as you were putting your shoes and coat back on, Bella was sitting on the last stair. 

“That’s fine, Mrs Carisi. I don’t live far away,” 

“You’re 16 and it’s dark outside, you’re not walking home by yourself,” she warned you. “Sonny! Can you come please?” she called out her son from downstairs. Sonny showed up a moment later upstairs. “Can you drive Ezra to her home, please?” 

You watched attentively to his reaction. He didn’t look particularly bothered about it, which surprised you. You’d be annoyed if you had to drive your brothers’ friends back to their place. He disappeared for a second, and came back putting his zipper on. He stopped downstairs, putting his converses and opened the front door for you, with a smile. “I guess I can’t go?” Bella’s voice forced you to take your eyes off Sonny. 

“No, go take a shower. Dinner will be ready soon,” her mother answered.

Bella hugged you, before you left the house with her brother. You’re not the hugger kind of person, it takes you by surprise every time she does it. You settled on the passenger seat. “What’s your address?” Sonny asked and you gave it to him. He started to drive and you tried to relax as much as you could.

“You really don’t have to do this, Dominick. You can drop me a few blocks away and I’ll walk,” 

“Considering you called me Dominick, I’m very tempted to do so,” he chuckled. “But my Ma will definitely know it, and it’s dark already. We never know what can happen,” 

“My dad had been teaching me self defense since I was 5, and I practiced Kickboxing for 6 years. I’ll be okay if someone tries to attack me,” 

“Kickboxing? Seriously?” he took a few looks at you every now and then. 

“Yes. Had to stop after my second concussion,” you confessed, regretful.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side,” Sonny chuckled. “At least, I know you can protect my sister,” 

You tried to avoid looking at him but it was hard. You can’t get enough off his face, his eyes, his smile, his dimples, his hair. “Bella likes you,” he said, after a silence.

“I like her too, you have an amazing sister,” 

“Too nice for her own good, to be fair. Either with friends or-- boyfriends,” he sighed. You can feel he’s the overprotective kind of brother. You wish you had one sometimes. You love your younger brothers, you like being the older sister but having someone even older to rely on could be nice. Especially after the last year and everything that happened.

“I got her to stop talking to Kyle,” you announced, proudly.

“God! Really? Finally someone talks sense to her!” you laughed from his reaction. He was relieved. Kyle had been playing with Bella for months, but no one had been able to make her stop talking to him. Until you. “Thank you, Ezra!” Sonny took the opportunity of being at the red light to turn his face. He took a longer look at you and so did you. It was silent for a moment, maybe a little awkward, until a car honk. 

Sonny dropped you off at your place. Your father Dan was still at work, your mother Louise was cooking dinner while one of the twins, Mason, was showering and the other, Paul, was doing his homework. “Hey sweetie. How was your day at Bella’s?” 

“Good,” you just answered, getting something to drink. Your relationship with your mother has been suffering since you saw her kissing a different man than your father, a year ago. You walked out of the kitchen and headed straight to your bedroom. 

You miss New Orleans. You miss your grandparents, your friends - especially Laurel -, the city. New York is fine, but it’s too compact for you. There are too many people to your liking. Only Bella makes it easier. You were writing a letter to your grandmother when someone knocked at your door. Paul peeked his head after you said ‘come in’. “Dinner’s ready,” he said. 

“Wanna play Monopoly with us, tonight?” your young brother asked, as you two were walking downstairs, your arm around his shoulders. 

“Yeah, sure,”

“Are you sad, Ezra?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

“I just miss New Orleans,” you confessed, sitting at the table. You knew your mother heard it. 

“Me too! I can’t wait to go back there,” your other brother exclaimed.

“We’re going for Christmas, kiddos. Remember?” 

4 months to go. 

Surprisingly, your father wasn’t working on Sunday and your parents planned a family day. You tried to avoid it but they didn’t give you a choice. You spent the day in Manhattan, discovering the place. You have to admit that it’s beautiful, but for vacations. Not to live. “Next weekend, if I’m not working, we’ll go see a play on Broadway. Deal?” your father offered. That’s probably the best thing about living in New York ; Broadway, all day, everyday. 

“ _ If _ you’re not working,” you echoed his words.

“I’m new in this office, baby. And you know the job,”

“I know it’s important what you do. I--I just miss my dad,” you sadly admitted. 

“I miss you, too. I’ll make it up to you, okay?” he hugged before, kissed your forehead and you and your father joined your mother and the twins. 

The following week went smoothly. You were still spending all your time with Bella. His parents finally agreed to let her come to your place, after they met your mother. The science project was over, you just had to do a presentation now, which is your worst nightmare. On Saturday afternoon, you and Bella were rehearsing in the basement, after you insisted. You were okay, talking to an empty couch. But you knew that on tuesday when you had to speak in front of the entire class, you’d be extremely anxious. “What are you guys doing?” you heard from the stairs. You jumped from surprise and turned around to see Sonny, leaning on the stair gate. 

“We have a presentation on tuesday for our science project. Ezra feels insecure,” Bella answered for you and you shot her a glare. You felt embarrassed about it on a daily basis, you didn’t need Sonny to know. 

“Want me to act like one of your classmates?” he looked intensely at you. There was nothing but reassurance on his face. He wanted to help.

“I--yeah, okay. Why not,” you answered, nervous. 

Sonny sat on one of the couches, facing you and Bella. He laid on it, legs spreaded, arms crossed. His curly hair was messy, he was in grey sweatpants and a dark tee-shirt. You took a moment to breathe in and out, gaining control of your anxiety. After you gave a nod to Bella, the two of you did the presentation in front of Sonny. 

His eyes were mainly on you. He could see how nervous you were by your body language. He knows what it’s like. It took him years to be able to talk in front of people and even now, he still feels anxious sometimes - depending on who’s listening, what it’s about and how important it is. Once you were done, you stood there, waiting for his comments. 

“Ezra, you need to breathe,” he uncrossed his arms and moved to the edge of the couch. “You speak way too fast, and with your accent--” he let out a small chuckle. He was trying to relax you. 

“My accent? Can we talk about yours for a minute?” you snapped back, with a small smile.

“But I have a Staten Island accent. And we are in--” he looked at you with a grin, teasing you, “Staten Island. I fit in,” 

You grabbed a pillow on the armchair and threw it at him, gently. He took it and held it against his chest. “How can you talk to me for hours about a stupid book but be scared to death to talk for five minutes about science?” Bella rolled her eyes at you and sat down. 

“Hey!” you interjected, falsely offended. “The picture of Dorian Gray isn’t stupid! Dorian is, but that’s something else,” 

“The picture of Dorian Gray?” Sonny repeated. 

“Yeah, written by Oscar W--” 

“I know,” he cut you with a smile, “I just have a paper on that to return in two weeks,” 

“Ezra will happily do it for you,” Bella said. 

“That’s cheating, Bellz,” it was Sonny’s turn to throw the pillow to her sister. “But like, you’re really interested in literature?” he turned his attention back at you.

“Yeah. I… My grandma was an english literature teacher. She still gives private lessons. I grew up in her home library,” you smiled. You miss that place. You miss your grandmother. 

“Would you mind reading my work when I’m done? Just to tell me what you think,” Sonny asked, his soft eyes locked into yours.

“Sure! I’d love to,” 

He exclaimed “Awesome!” before standing up and hugging you as a thank you. Just like when Bella does it, it took you by surprise and you didn’t return the hug. You could feel his scent on your for the rest of the night, though. And it was intoxicating. 


End file.
